Have you ever looked at a label of an item at a grocery store and read the list of ingredients? How surprised were you by all of the names that you did not recognize? All too often, we see ingredients in our food that sound like something you’d use in a chemistry lab experiment. These same foods with ingredients we can’t even pronounce sometimes end up on menus in restaurants. However, at Veggie Land, one of Sayulita’s newest restaurants which opened in 2017, you can be assured that all of the ingredients used in their menu are natural, real, and fresh. At Veggie Land, they use simply wholesome, healthy, and raw ingredients combined with local produce to create healthy dining options for our community of Sayuilta.
The owners of Veggie Land, Graciela, Janeth, and Jose Luis, are a local family of Nayarit, and are all vegetarians. Spending time in Sayulita, they quickly realized that our community did not have many quality dining options for vegetarians or vegans. They also realized and understood the struggle and difficulty in trying to find restaurants that could cater to their food needs. Thus, they took their passion for healthy eating and made it their mission to help others with a similar struggle by creating Veggie Land. Now, Veggie Land is one of Sayulita’s only restaurants in town that offers a full vegetarian, gluten-free, and vegan menu. Additionally, Veggie Land only uses produce from local farmers, giving diners a satisfying farm-to-table experience knowing exactly where their produce is coming from. Now more than ever, there is a high demand and need for vegetarian, gluten free, and vegan dining options in our pueblo, as more people with diverse palates and food requirements not only come to visit, but have come to live here in Sayulita. Veggie Land is committed to satisfying this void, which previously hadn’t really been sufficiently met by any other restaurant in town.
Just because Veggie Land is a vegetarian and vegan restaurant, does not mean you can’t or won’t enjoy it if you are not a vegetarian! Often times when non-vegetarians or non-vegans think of food being “vegetarian only” and “vegan”, they immediately equate this with the idea that the food will have less flavor, or just that the food won’t taste as good. For example, I know plenty of adults who will not go near a vegetable, nonetheless something labeled as “vegan”. However, Veggie Land is doing an excellent job of eliminating this negative stigma about vegetarian and vegan food, by turning out delicious and quality dishes that non-vegetarians and non-vegans alike enjoy. At Veggie Land, this is just not the case! The food is incredible; you will be surprised that such healthy food can also be so tasty and enjoyable!
A satisfied customer had this to say about her recent dining experience at Veggie Land: “The menu is all vegetarian and anything can be made vegan; they even have vegan cheese! I ordered the tofu tacos and my boyfriend ordered the volcano salad. The sauces served with the tacos were outstanding—a light green sauce, mustard, and a hot sauce. The tofu was marinated in seaweed and had a great texture. The staff was extremely friendly and accommodating. The food was very fresh and had great flavor. We loved it so much that my non vegan/vegetarian boyfriend requested to go back the next night for dinner!”
The menu at Veggie Land is predominantly influenced by traditional Mexican cooking techniques, with an emphasis on healthy eating. Don’t worry—there is much more to a vegetarian diet than just salad and vegetables; Menu is diverse, and includes choices such as “Tacos al Pastor”, (which use marinated soy as the meat substitute), “the Portobello” (which is a hamburger that uses a luxurious portabella mushroom as the burger patty), and even some tasty vegan desserts. Furthermore, at Veggie Land you will still find all of your traditional Mexican favorites, such as chilaquiles, fajitas, burritos, and of course, everyone’s favorite, guacamole. Additionally, there are some non-Mexican menu favorites, such as the pesto pasta, pasta alfredo, and caesar salad.
Another customer who recently ate at Veggie Land was very pleased with the menu options: “We enjoyed the generous refills of homemade, tangy, sweet ginger lemonade. My husband enjoyed a pesto based veggie laden spaghetti—simply prepared and delicious. My entree was simply the best chile relleno I've had in Mexico. Lightly fried pepper filled with queso and served with a tart tomato dipping sauce. The enchiladas were delicate veggie filled tortillas, not overly cheesy, served with a tasty rice and bean side. A thin seasoned tofu "steak" was also included on the Mexican Plate dish. It was marinated in spices that complemented the rest of the dish. So delicious and fresh. A nice welcome to Sayulita. Definitely going back for breakfast soon.”
Veggie Land is open Tuesday-Sunday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They have daily specials and offer take-out. Come try their appealing menu options today and open your eyes to how yummy and satisfying healthy eating can be!
Written by: Aanya Sheikh-Taheri